Begun Bhaja or Baingan Bhaja, How to make Begun Bhaja Recipe

Begun Bhaja or Baingan Bhaja – recipe with step by step photos and instructions. Aubergines are referred to as begun or baingan/vangi in India. Baingan Bhaja is a quick recipe where aubergines are marinated in spices and shallow fried or deep fried.

I love baingan bharta with phulkas also love baingan pakora. Aubergines tastes great with potatoes in sabzi. Brinjal fried are favorite in our house it just has to be crispy. Bhaja word originates from the Bengal region. Bhaja recipe is made in several ways. Mainly turmeric powder is used for marinating the baingan.

In bengali cuisine mostly mustard oil is used which gives a strong, pungent flavor to their food. To make the bhaja crispy I have added some poppy seed, rice flour and gram flour. You could just add some rice flour or chickpea flour or poppy seed to coat the marinated baingan before frying.

To give a spicier taste I have added some red chili powder which is optional. Some aubergines are bitter in taste. So you have two easy ways to remove the bitterness from the eggplant. One way is to soak the aubergines in water with salt for 10-15 mins. The second way is to add 1 tsp sugar while marinating the aubergines this helps is removing their bitterness. I have skipped both these methods but the baingan didn’t taste bitter so I was lucky. But preferably use any of these 2 methods before frying baingan.

Bhaja recipe are made mainly from fish, potatoes and begun in Bengal region. The eggplant used for this recipe is the big sized dark purple baingan which are used for baingan bharta. Begun bhaja goes well as a side dish with khichdi, pulao, any rice dish or any meal. We had bhaja with moong dal khichdi and mango pickle.

Begun Bhaja or Baingan Bhaja step by step recipe:

1. Rinse the eggplant, wipe them with a napkin or cloth.

2. Slice them into thin roundels. You could immerse them in water with salt for 10-12 mins to remove their bitterness or add 1 tsp sugar while marinating the eggplants. I skipped both as was running short of time but got lucky as my baingan was not bitter. However it’s better to remove their bitterness before frying them.

3. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp red chili powder if using and salt as required. Also add 1 tsp mustard oil which will help in coating the egg plants nicely and will also help them in absorbing less oil.

Slice them into thin roundels. You could immerse them in water with salt for 10-12 mins to remove their bitterness or add 1 tsp sugar while marinating the eggplants. I skipped both the method as was running short of time but got lucky as my baingan were not bitter. However it's better to remove their bitterness before frying them.